This invention relates to internal cleaners of oil-pump screens in internal-combustion engines.
A major problem with long use of internal-combustion engines is carbonization-clogging of oil-pump screens. Carbonic and other combustion residues of engine oil and fuel accumulate solidly on oil-pump screens. There they obstruct flow of oil to oil pumps from the oil-pump screens, resulting in inadequate lubricating and cooling of bearings, valve guides, cams and other moving parts of engines. This situation is mis-diagnosed most often as failure of oil pumps because it decreases oil pressure that is readable on an oil-pressure gauge such a mis-diagnosis requires the oil pump to be repaired or replaced rather than the oil-pump screen which is the real problem. Repair or replacement of oil pumps or oil screen is expensive because it requires expensive removal of the engine for nearly all present automotive construction.
There are known cleaners and methods for cleaning oil-pump screens, but not with the completeness, low cost and engine protection made possible by this invention. Some prior devices, cleaning substances and methods employ engine and fuel-pump circulation of cleaning solvents that would destroy engine seals, bearings and other engine components if the cleaner were a strong enough solvent to be sufficiently effective. Others employ expensive bypass of the oil system instead of cleaning it.
Examples of most-closely related known but different devices are described in the following patent documents:
Objects of patentable novelty and utility taught by this invention are to provide an engine-oil-pump-screening apparatus and method which:
removes solid buildup of carbonic and other residues of combustion from engine-oil-pump screens internally without removal of oil pans from internal-combustion engines;
does not damage or destroy engine bearings, seals or other components; and
does not dislodge solid particles and convey them to the oil pump from other parts of the engine to the oil pump and to the oil-pump pickup screen.
This invention accomplishes these objectives with an oil-pump-screen cleaning apparatus and method with which: (a) an oil pan of an engine is drained by removal of a drain plug from a drain aperture; (b) the drain plug is reinserted in the drain aperture; (c) a measured amount of a predetermined carbon-disintegrative liquid is put in the oil pan, preferably through a dipstick tube, to immerse the oil-pump pickup screen, but not the oil pump without contacting engine bearings, gaskets, or other engine components that could be deteriorated or otherwise damaged by the carbon-disintegrative liquid; (d) the carbon-disintegrative liquid is left in the oil pan long enough, preferably about one hour, for the carbon-disintegrative liquid to disintegrate and dislodge all carbonic and other material from the oil-pump pickup screen while not running the engine or otherwise conveying the carbon-disintegrative liquid to other parts of the engine; (e) the carbon-disintegrative liquid containing disintegrated carbonic and other materials is removed from the oil pan by removal of the drain-plug which is then reinserted into the drain-plug aperture; (f) an amount of flush liquid, preferably kerosene, comparable to the amount of the carbon-disintegrative liquid is put in the oil pan through preferably the dipstick tube and allowed to soak about forty-five minutes; (g) the flush liquid is removed and the drain plug reinserted; (h) the oil pan is filled with new engine oil or liquid synthetic lubricant that can be silicon-based; (i) a clean-run oil filter, which can be one used previously in the engine, is left in or placed in a filter container temporarily; (j) the engine is then clean-run at various speeds for two-to-ten minutes to convey any disintegrated material to the clean-run oil filter; (k) the clean-run oil filter is replaced with a new oil filter; and (l) oil level of the engine is checked for proper fill level to complete the process.
The apparatus for using this method is preferably a pair of two fluid dispensers. One is a cleaner dispenser for putting a proper amount of the carbon-disintegrative liquid into the oil pan through the dipstick tube or through the drain aperture. The other is a flush dispenser that is sized for putting approximately the same amount of flush liquid into the oil pan in the same manner as for the carbon-disintegrative liquid. Both are labeled accordingly and provided with instruction for their respective uses. Both also have outlets for insertion of fluid through the dipstick tube so as to avoid contact with parts of the engine.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention.